The 2004–05 season was Liverpool Football Club's 113th season in existence and their 43rd consecutive season in the top-flight of English football. The season began on 1 July 2004 and concluded on 30 June 2005, with competitive matches played between August and May. Liverpool finished in fifth place, 37 points behind eventual winners Chelsea with a record of 17 wins, 7 draws and 14 defeats. This was not an improvement on the previous Premier League season when they finished fourth. Liverpool fared better in cup competitions. Although they were eliminated by Burnley in the third round of the FA Cup, they reached the final of the League Cup, which they lost 3–2 to Chelsea. Despite their lack of success domestically, Liverpool were successful in the UEFA Champions League. They won the competition for the fifth time, defeating Italian team AC Milan in the final.
After six years in charge, Gérard Houllier was replaced as manager by Rafael Benítez, who had led Valencia to victory in La Liga and the UEFA Cup the previous season. Liverpool acquired eight players in the transfer market, including Djibril Cissé, Xabi Alonso and Luis García. They were supplemented by the arrival of Mauricio Pellegrino, Fernando Morientes and Scott Carson during the January transfer window. A total of four players departed including Markus Babbel, Danny Murphy and Michael Owen, who were all transferred in the summer transfer window. Stéphane Henchoz left the club during the winter transfer window.
Thirty-two different players represented the club in four competitions, and there were 17 different goalscorers. Liverpool's top goalscorers were Milan Baroš, Steven Gerrard and García with 13 goals each. Defender John Arne Riise made the most appearances during the season with 57.
Background
Liverpool did not win any trophies in the 2003–04 season. The team finished fourth in the Premier League, securing a return to the UEFA Champions League, but finished 30 points behind eventual winners Arsenal. They fared little better in the cup competitions, exiting the FA Cup in the fifth round losing 1–0 to Portsmouth in a replay after the original tie finished 1–1. A 3–2 defeat to Bolton Wanderers resulted in Liverpool's exit from the League Cup in the fourth round. Liverpool reached the same round of the UEFA Cup before they were eliminated by Marseille 3–2 on aggregate.
Following the end of the season, manager Gérard Houllier was replaced by Rafael Benítez after six years in charge. It was felt that Houllier had taken the club as far as he could and that his reign had peaked in the 2000–01 season, when the club won the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup. Benítez had won La Liga and the UEFA Cup with Valencia during the 2003–04 season. The performance of Benítez's team against Liverpool during the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, when Valencia won both games in the group stage, were important factors influencing the Liverpool board to appoint him as manager. Several new players were brought in as well as Benítez. A deal for striker Djibril Cissé was secured before Houllier left, while Benítez's first signing as manager was defender Josemi from Málaga. Antonio Núñez, who joined as part of Owen's transfer to Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso and Luis García were the remaining transfers made in the summer transfer window.
Liverpool's first match of the pre-season was against Wrexham at their home stadium, the Racecourse Ground. Two goals from Anthony Le Tallec secured a 2–1 victory. The remainder of their games were in the ChampionsWorld Series held in America. Liverpool beat Celtic 5–1 in the first game, lost 1–0 to Porto in the second and beat Roma 2–1 in the final game with Owen and Cissé scoring.
Several players left Liverpool during the season. Defender Markus Babbel joined VfB Stuttgart on a free transfer after his contract had expired. Midfielder Danny Murphy joined Charlton Athletic for £2.5 million. Forward Michael Owen joined Real Madrid for £8.5 million with Núñez moving to Liverpool after talks stalled on a new contract. Benítez stated he was happy for Owen to stay but contract issues made that difficult: "I was very happy with Michael and I wanted him to stay. The problem was he only had a year left on his contract."
Arsenal and Chelsea were considered the pre-season favourites, with Arsenal looking to retain their title after their unbeaten season in the 2003–04 Premier League. It was felt that Liverpool would push the top three teams with BBC Sport's Mark Lawrenson stating: "My immediate thoughts are that Liverpool will finish fourth, pushing to break into the top three."
Transfers
In +Players transferred inNo.PositionPlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRef9FWAuxerre£14,500,0001 July 200417DFJosemiMálaga£2,000,00028 July 200418MFAntonio NúñezReal Madrid£1,500,00017 August 200414MFReal Sociedad£10,700,00020 August 200410MFLuis GarcíaBarcelona£6,000,00020 August 200412DFValenciaFree5 January 200519FWReal Madrid£6,300,00013 January 200520GKLeeds United£1,000,00021 January 2005
Out +Players transferred outNo.PositionPlayerTransferred toFeeDateRef6DFVfB StuttgartFree16 July 200413MFDanny MurphyCharlton Athletic£2,500,00010 August 200410FWReal Madrid£8,000,000 + Antonio Núñez14 August 20042DFCelticFree28 January 2005
Transfer summary +Summary of transfer activity during the seasonPeriodSpendingIncomeNet expenditureSummer £34,700,000 £10,250,000 £24,450,000Winter £7,300,000 £0 £7,300,000Total £42,000,000 £10,250,000 £31,750,000
Pre-season matches +2004–05 Pre-season matchesDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreScorersAttendance21 July 2004WrexhamAW2–1Le Tallec (2) 24', 78'14,97827 July 2004CelticNW5–1Riise 5', Owen 36', Cissé (2) 62', 76', Henchoz 69'24,27131 July 2004PortoNL0–140,0783 August 2004RomaNW2–1Cissé 30', Owen 85'25,028
Competitions Overall record
Premier League
A total of 20 teams competed in the Premier League in the 2004–05 season. Each team played 38 matches; two against every other team and one match at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. At the end of the season the top two teams qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League; teams in third and fourth needed to play a qualifier. The provisional fixture list was released on 24 June 2004, but was subject to change in the event of clashes with other competitions, international football, inclement weather, or matches being selected for television coverage.
August–October
Liverpool travelled to Tottenham Hotspur on the opening weekend of the season. Djibril Cissé scored on his league debut to give Liverpool the lead in the first half but an equaliser from Jermain Defoe in the second half meant the match finished 1–1. The following weekend, Liverpool hosted Manchester City at Anfield. City took the lead at the end of the first half when former Liverpool striker, Nicolas Anelka scored. However, a goal three minutes into the second half from Milan Baroš and another from Steven Gerrard in the 75th minute meant Liverpool won the match 2–1. A trip to the Reebok Stadium to face Bolton Wanderers was next for Liverpool. Luis García, making his debut, had a goal disallowed for offside before Kevin Davies 38th-minute goal secured a 1–0 win for Bolton. Due to international fixtures, Liverpool did not play another game for two weeks. When domestic football resumed, Liverpool faced West Bromwich at Anfield in their next match. Goals from Gerrard, Steve Finnan and García helped Liverpool to a 3–0 win. Manager Rafael Benítez was encouraged by his side's performance: "It was perhaps the best performance so far because we scored three goals and had many possibilities, I'm a little closer to finding the balance, but I need more time. I cannot say how long, it's impossible to know, what we've seen is a better team. It's a small step, we need to do more."
Liverpool's following match was against rivals Manchester United at their home ground, Old Trafford. Mikaël Silvestre opened the scoring for United in the 20th minute but an own goal by defender John O'Shea levelled the score 14 minutes later. Captain Gerrard went off with an injury after 40 minutes and Liverpool struggled to create more chances, and a further goal from Silvestre delivered a 2–1 win for United. A home match against Norwich City was next for Liverpool. Goals from Baroš, García and Cissé resulted in a 3–0 win. Liverpool's subsequent match was away to Chelsea at their home ground, Stamford Bridge. A tight game was settled by a goal from Joe Cole in the 64th minute to give Chelsea a 1–0 victory. Liverpool travelled to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in their subsequent match. They were 2–0 down at halftime due to two goals from Luís Boa Morte, but an own goal by Zat Knight and goals from Baroš, Xabi Alonso and Igor Bišćan secured a 4–2 victory for Liverpool.
Goals from John Arne Riise and García were enough to secure a 2–0 win in the following match against Charlton Athletic at Anfield, which moved Liverpool up to fifth place. Liverpool's next opposition were Blackburn Rovers. They took the lead in the seventh minute when Riise scored, but Jay Bothroyd scored in the 16th minute to level the scores. Liverpool suffered a setback in the 30th minute when Cissé was forced off with a broken leg after a challenge with Jay McEveley. Blackburn took the lead on the stroke of halftime when Brett Emerton scored after the Liverpool defence failed to clear the ball, but Liverpool levelled the scores in the 54th minute when Baroš scored from a pass by García. Benítez was disappointed his side did not win the match: "I'm disappointed as we began the game with a high tempo like we did at the start of the second half."
November–December The following weekend, Liverpool faced Birmingham City at Anfield. Liverpool had the majority of the chances but failed to score and a Darren Anderton goal for Birmingham in the 77th minute gave them a 1–0 win. Liverpool rebounded the following week as they beat Crystal Palace 3–2, courtesy of a hat-trick by Baroš, which included a last-minute penalty. Middlesbrough were the opponents the next weekend. A first-half goal from Chris Riggott and a goal in the second-half from Boudewijn Zenden resulted in a 2–0 defeat for Liverpool. Liverpool faced defending champions Arsenal at Anfield the following weekend. They took the lead in the 37th minute when Alonso scored. Arsenal equalised in the 57th minute through a goal by Patrick Vieira, but with the match heading for a draw, a goal by Neil Mellor from secured a 2–1 victory for Liverpool. Benítez was delighted with the result and hailed his team's performance: "We worked very hard against a very good team and it's fantastic, I think we were almost perfect in the first half—with and without the ball. In the second half, we were a little tired and they played very well. We knew it would be difficult not to concede a goal but at the end of the game, I think it was a fair result."